Veteran search?

[Man of Vintage]

My great grandfather was a bombadier during WW2. I've always been fascinated about that portion of his life and was hoping to find out more about his enlistment. Does anybody happen to know of sites out there where I can do name searches of different squadrons? I'm hoping I might even be able to find a photo of the plane he was in...the name of which I have no idea. Any advice would be great, thank you!

 

[Phantomfixer]

Try getting a copy of his DD214. I think they called a 214 even during WWII. The 214 is a copy of his disacharge. It has the rank he held, his job, any medals and awards. These can be obtained through a family member if your father/mother kept them, or the VA if you have his SSN. Once you found this out you can try to determine Assigned groups and squadrons. These might be listed on his 214 also, at least his last duty assignment.

 

[scotrace]

Be aware that most records of specific service were lost in a fire in the early 1970's. There's not much information to be found without a great deal of digging. I highly recommend this book Finding Your Father's War: A Practical Guide to Researching and Understanding Service in the World War II U.S. Army

 

[416rigby]

My Dad flew with the 8th AAC 305th BG 364th BSQ as a Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner then went on to Cadet Officer Training to fly as a Bombadier in the 13th AAC for the remainder of the war.
Start at http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hfhm/ then http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/ that will get Ya going. From family if you can find his BG that may get you in contact with a forum that you can question and Ya might get a super hit, with the Spirits grace one of his Pards may still be with us.

 

[Man of Vintage]

Thank you guys for the great advice. This info will definitely get me started...I'll be sure to update this thread when I find anything.

 

[Phantomfixer]

Any conspiracy theorist out there about why the fire in St Louis in the 70's. Just a fire? could be. But how many thousands of vets were put in harms way testing the A bomb? The blasts in the desert, Bikini atoll, the flyers who flew through the clouds testing air samples. hmmm

 

[obxgyrene]

I wanted to make a few comments because, in my experience, there are many grandchildren out there who are trying to locate the records of family members who served during WW-II .

First, the DD-214 did not exist for any branch of the armed forces during or immediately after WW-II. "DD" stands for "Department of Defense" and of course did not exist until it was created in about 1948. Prior to that, we only had a War Department (Army and Army Air Forces) and Navy Department (Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard (during time of war)). The War Department, like the Navy Department did however issue documents similar to what is currently on the DD-214 to all those released from active service.

Secondly, about the infamous fire at the National Personnel Records Center in Saint Louis. Everyone needs to know that this fire did not involve any Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard records. In addition, many Army and Army Air Force records were not destroyed. About 20-percent were saved and an unknown number weren't even in Saint Louis during the fire because they may have been loaned to other agencies, such as the VA. Here is a good summary: http://www.nvlsp.org/Information/ArticleLibrary/ServiceRecords/MILREC-1973FIRE-LOSTRECORDS.htm#What%20Was%20Lost

Lastly I wanted to pass on some other ideas on locating military records.

First, Google his name. You may be surprised to find it. There are people out there who spend hundreds of hours making such information available to the families of veterans. I have a personal registry on the Internet that records a great deal of information about approximately 9,000 men who served along side my father. I get inquiries all the time from grandchildren and do a lot of work to give them any additional information I have. Some of my closest friends these days are the children of the guys my Dad served with during the war.

Next, see if he is registered at the National WW-II Memorial Registry and if so, what information you can obtain to get you started on your quest: http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=registry.asp

Until recently, guys and gals being discharged from the armed forces were told to take their discharge papers to the county registrar to have them recorded. If you know where his home was when he was discharged, and the approximate time frame, you can try locating his discharge document there.

You can also try to contact the funeral director who performed services related to the burial. Since veterans rate American flags for their caskets, funeral directors are required to verify veteran status in order to get a flag from the VA. The funeral director may have a copy of the separation documents in their case files.

A final idea is obvious, but most often overlooked. Ask your parents. They may already have the information you are looking for! If not, they often have photographs that can assist you if you know what to look for. Look at the photos closely to see what information you can make out (types of airplanes, obvious landmarks, unit insignia worn on the shoulder, ribbons being worn). If a photo may provide you some information, but you are uncertain, post it on a WW-II forum and ask. Here is once such forum with some very helpful folks: http://www.ww2f.com/ Also look at the back of the photographs. Many of the guys from WW-II devoted a great deal of effort to make notations of dates, locations, and their buddies who are pictured in these photographs. Google the names of any of the people listed and check out the names in the WW-II Memorial Registry. Often in these collections of photographs are letter sent home, V-Mails, and newspaper clippings--all of which are clues that will eventually lead you to the answers you seek.

Good luck in your quest. If I can ever be of assistance to you or any other member, please PM me.